MIbassyaker

Don't know how far you're getting into fall season down there, but up here a week or so ago (last time I was out) it was ALL spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and chatterbaits.

I've never been able to walk a frog with any consistency. Occasionally it happens by accident, but, like you say usually all I achieve is making the frog bob up and down as it goes. Happily, the bass don't seem to care, so I have decided I don't care either.

Well, largemouth are pretty but I don't know about that...when the sun hits a smallmouth right, and it's tiger-striped warpaint pops out in stark relief, there's nothing prettier.

Beat me to it. FFO used to have several models of the ETS rods and finally sold out, I wanna say, almost a year ago. Now all of a sudden they have a few of the MH-F 6'9" baitcaster again -- better get one now if you want one! For all anyone knows, this could be the last batch they ever have up for sale new, as it has now been a couple years since they were discontinued. I have the 6'9" MH-F. With the short handle, it is a great all-around kayak rod. I use it for 3/8-1/2oz jigs, topwater walkers 1/2oz to 1oz, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, sometimes lipless crankbaits. One issue with these rods is that the reel seat doesn't lock down on some reels enough to prevent the reel from moving a little bit. This can be fixed by putting a little bit of electrical tape on the reel feet to bulk them up slightly.

Weightless texas-rigged stick worm cast to visible cover. I know, I know...conventional and boring. What can i say? It works.

I wonder if the rod is mislabelled and it actually has a MH blank.

I think of it rather as the senko lays flatter to one side. It's subtle and hard to see. The problem is, the advice you'll hear on this is totally inconsistent: some will say curved side down, some say up. I say it doesn't matter because I turn them around to re-rig anyway as they they get used, and never noticed a difference in effectiveness.

1. was the bass that ate the perch hooked at all, or just holding on to the perch? I'm not sure there is anything to "fix" here. 2. Are you sure the second fish wasn't a pike or musky? They love, love, love spinnerbaits, and can easily cut 17lb mono with their teeth. I had a pike break off a spinnerbait on me this week on 15lb mono, and it wasn't even that large. A cost of doing business, as it were. 3. If not a toothy critter, then your line probably broke because it had a nick in it. Are you checking your line for abrasions and weak spots frequently?

It dawns on me that I never followed up this post... A short call to Mike at DVT was all it took -- he told me what materials to get and gave some instructions on doing it properly. It was an easy epoxy fix as mentioned, very straightforward. The rod is back in service, slinging spinnerbaits and chatterbaits just like before, as if nothing happened. Thanks Mike!

Most lakes I fish have visibility between about 4' and 10'. Some as low as 1' or as much as 15'. I think of 6' visibility or more the "clear" range.

I bought a discounted close-out last gen aetos last year. Had it 2 weeks and snapped the tip off by banging it against at table. There was no question it was my fault. When I contacted them they said send it in and I would get a 45% discount on a new rod if it was determined not to be a defect. So I sent it in thinking I would hear from them about an offer of the discount. Instead, 2 weeks later, a tube just shows up on my door, and inside is a comparable model of the new-gen aetos, which runs $20 more than the last gen did when new.

Definitely listen to the structure guys instead of me -- they fish this sort of stuff all the time. I only know from limited experience what has worked for me vs. what hasn't when I've tried fishing an area like this, and I'm usually on waters that don't have anything like it.

I am not hugely experienced at this sort of cover, but I fish a little reservoir with a section like that which, while it is not as deep, does hold bass. The ones I have caught there have not been on or near the bottom, but suspending mid-depth near the trees, or near the surface. They are more likely to be near the surface when there has been a warming trend for a few days and there is little or no wind. I have been successful with a buzzbait early and late in the day. Try to tick the trees on the retrieve. If this doesn't work, or the sun is high, I fish a weighted wacky worm vertically, cast near a tree and let it fall. I think a spinnerbait could be effective here too, either cast and retrieved horizontally to go near and bump the tree trunks subsurface as they go past, or stop the retrieve near the trunk and let it helicopter vertically down alongside.

Largemouth 5 and a half, smallmouth 3lb even. I'm not really a spinnerbait guy either, mostly because of a general problem I have sticking with non-topwater moving baits if I don't get bit quickly. But right now is the time to get on the train and ride for awhile, until it gets too cold.

"'Zooms'? Don't you have some of those already?"

Yes, I do know you're a fan! I have gotten away from spinnerbaits a bit the last couple of years in favor of chatterbaits/vibrating jigs, as I like having the extra vibration feedback in subsurface vegetation. But sometimes there's no substitute for a whirling, flashing blade, and that time was today.

My biggest bass of the year (21", 5.25lb) and best of 19 this morning, not including 3 pike around 24"-28" Most, including the big one, came on a gold/silver tandem Stanley spinnerbait, with a perchy-looking skirt color I had to look up when I got home: "Golden Bream". It's Fall, all right.

I have also been impressed with the Booyah Boss Pop. Effective, affordable popper, along with the Rebel and the Rapala. It is worth getting a few different kinds, as they all splash and pop and spit and chug a little differently. Ah! I didn't realize it was the former Zell Pop...

FANTASTIC pond and river baits -- very underrated. Rip-rip-pause retrieve, varying the lengths of the rips and pauses. Don't be afraid to work them violently and erratically -- sometimes that's the ticket, especially in current. In still water, I like to work them through scattered emergent cover, at times when I don't want to keep it in one place too long (as I would with a popper), and I don't want to move it past locations too quickly (like a buzzbait). I actually prefer the single prop-versions over the double prop: heddon torpedo and tiny torpedo, Yo-zuri prop, Rapala skitter prop, Lucky craft wake tail.

Overdone? Not at all. You got a few dark ones, a few light ones, a few different brands (3 of the better brands, to be exact). You'll wear them out eventually, grind down the rivet on the blade, destroy the skirt, bend the wire beyond repair....but it will be worth it. Good timing too -- buzzbait season starting up again about now...

Yeah, I'm a cranky loner and a jerk. I don't ask for info on your locations, patterns, or anything else. I put in the effort to find productive waters and spots, and I try to figure them out myself. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. I expect others who share these small, public fisheries with me to do the same. Sorry, I guess.

Whoa, that's Rich Zaleski. I have one of his old books and numerous of his articles. Didn't know about his blog -- nice to see he still has a lot to say.

Known issue with Elite Tech Smallmouth baitcasters, and I have had the same with mine on certain reels (lews and Daiwa). Simple fix: a little electrical tape on the reel feet to bulk them up slightly, or stick a small folded piece in there as a shim.

Great choices, although I doubt you could have gone wrong no matter what. That Fogy is a winner. So many other bladed jigs are about twice the price, with less than half the durability.

Another vote here for "clarity doesn't matter". I caught my first bladed jig bass two years ago in 10 feet of visibility with a zoom fluke trailer. I think I use them more often than spinnerbaits these days. As long as the bass willing to chase something, a bladed jig will certainly do in my area regardless of clarity, which ranges about from 15 feet to less than a foot. I don't know if "around grass" is strictly necessary, but I don't fish many places where I'm not around grass, other than rocky smallie rivers.